#BentoGiveaway Winner!

Congratulations to... (drumroll, please)

DIANNE RARELA OCAMPO

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You just won a Big Bento Start-Up kit. Please expect an email from me in a few. Again, congratulations!

Thank you, everyone, for joining this giveaway!

Yay!

The Pre-Giveaway Bento Giveaway!

And so it has been pretty busy over at BentoMommas. So much so that we've had to buy shelving for stocks. Yes! We now have a pretty small, but organized "warehouse". Imagine that.

Busy is an understatement. And the Facebook page almost has a thousand likes. That's a mighty feat! Considering we started out as a group of bento moms with this crazy idea.

So anyway, because we're about to reach that "1,000 likes" milestone, we thought it would be cool to stage a BIG BENTO GIVEAWAY. And well, we're not quite at 1,000. Haha! So this BentoMomma thought she'd go through her own bento loot to see if she can organize her own little giveaway - a pre-giveaway to the giveaway sort of giveaway. LOL!

Et voila!

WIN THIS BIG BENTO START-UP KIT!
Kit includes: 2 star silicon cups, 2 mini oval silicon cups, a butterfly silicon cup, star picks, skittle picks, G-clef skewers,
2 sauce bottles, 3 plastic fruit barans, a set of Wilton FoodWriters and an original Mickey Mouse bread press!

So easy to join! Here's how:

1. Follow the steps as detailed on Rafflecopter below. The more steps you accomplish, the more raffle entries you get. If you don't see the Rafflecopter giveaway template, click here.
2. Deadline for entries is 12AM, Monday, 3 February 2014 (that's a minute into Monday).
3. The winner will be announced next week.
4. This giveaway is open to Philippine residents only. You must provide your complete Philippine address. The prize will be shipped to the winner. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

That's it! Good luck!

FIVE!

My little boy turned five last month. I can't believe it. He will soon be out of his toddler years, and that makes me sad. To me, he is still my baby, but I know he can't stay small forever.

We weren't really planning a party for his 5th, but the kids at his school make it a point to celebrate their birthdays there, so RL was kinda expecting the same. That, plus the BentoMommas were sorta pushing for a bento party so I can practice my bento catering skills. LOL! So, this BentoMomma gathered all her energy to prep for a 30-minute bento party (yes, 30 minutes, maybe even less, because that's all the time you get for recess at the little boy's school).

We were going for Spidey, but thought it would be best to reserve Spidey for another occasion. Besides, Lightning McQueen would be easier for this Momma. So after researching and some serious net surfing, Momma came up with this:

Disney Cars Bento Party!

I made Lightning McQueen out of Spiced Ham (the taste suited the spaghetti, plus I liked its reddish hue), bread, cheese and nori. It sits on a bed of my special tri-noodle spaghetti. I served this with a cheese cake imprinted with Disney Cars characters, 3 pieces of chicken nuggets, a piece of gala apple sliced to resemble a checkered flag, and some gummy race cars. Yep, this Momma made 25 of these! 25! Can't say it was easy, but the results were very rewarding.

A closer look at Lightning McQueen...

I found some red reusable containers at the supermarket, and used that to hold the bento meals. Printed out a party tag and voila, this BentoMomma is now ready to do a little bit of bento catering (I hope I don't regret saying that, LOL). The thing with RL's preschool is - everything had to be reusable, so I was really careful with how I packaged everything.

I decorated the wooden utensils with red star washi tapes from Paper Chic Studio.

I ordered a Lightning McQueen cake from the neighborhood bakery (our favorite Orange Chiffon with their signature marshmallow icing!). It was a hit with the kids, although they didn't quite get to taste it, because after RL blew out the candles, it was time to head back to class.

They were thoughtful enough to incorporate the number 5 on McQueen's body. 

For giveaways, I used our leftover cups from the Family Day Bazaar and filled them with goodies - gelatin cups, M&Ms, Pocky, Chupa Chups, rainbow mentos, Chocolait drink, etc.

I found this cool Lightning McQueen candle, and RL actually had a total of 6 candles (5 small ones plus this one)
which I thought was a wrong move on my part, because he kept asking me "why 6". LOL!

It was a simple party, if you discount the prep time for the bento meals. I loved how the kids reacted to their meals (although it wasn't much of a surprise because these kids were used to seeing my little boy's bento lunch). I love how they appreciated what I prepared, so this was a very fulfilling experience.

This little girl was really digging into my tri-noodle spaghetti, and she kept saying it was "so good".
I can make you spaghetti forever, S!

The not-so-little boy posing with his birthday cake.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RL! 

To see more of my imBento work, follow me on Instagram at @momma_makes_imbento.
Looking for Bento tools? Check out the BentoMommas Facebook page here. 

Bento Shopping at Saizen!

The girls and I make it a point to check out Saizen regularly for bento tools. When I say "regularly", I mean once or twice a week. Yes, that often. We're bento addicts and we don't mind the extra hours spent doing something we so enjoy. So we were at Robinsons Galleria lately, and we checked out the Saizen store for more bento finds.

Saizen is our happy place. I could shop here for hours. I love how they get new stocks every week.

I don't want to bore you with my endless chit-chat, so I shall let the photos do the talking. I added inputs as captions. I wanted to buy everything! So kawaii lah!

Saizen is celebrating Bento Month! Their bento tools are on highlighted displays 'til the end of September.

These kiddie cutlery sets are just too cute! I got RL the frog set and A the bunny set.

Just when I was thinking I have enough cutters, I went and bought more. LOL!

More cookie/sandwich cutters. These are also good for ham, spam, bread, cheese, etc.

I love barans, they make the bento box prettier! I already have all three kinds!

Saizen has a wide selection of Bento Boxes!
They have loads, and I think I end up buying one or two each time I visit!

More bento boxes...

A closer look at those kawaii bento boxes! The strawberry ones are adorable. 

If you're making bento boxes for yourself, and prefer traditional boxes, they have those, too! 

Saizen also has a wide array of chopsticks. Plastic ones, wooden ones, kiddie ones, even trainer chopsticks!

Looking for Onigiri molders? Look no further, Saizen has the complete line!

More cute cutlery sets.

A Sanrio fan? Saizen also has a Sanrio section, all that Hello Kitty for that great, low price of P88!

Look at all their Stainless Steel cutters!!! Use these for just about anything - cutting veggies, molding rice/eggs, and more!

Mini Cookie Cutters!

These shapes are a must-have!

Japanese blossoms cookie cutters! 

If you are new to bento-making, make sure you get yourself a new cutting board! Use it exclusively for all things bento. 

This looks like a nifty cutting board - anti-odor, flexible and comes with a built-in ruler.

All things silicone! 

Mold chocolates for dessert or jello for the little one!
Yes, you can even do gummi candy at home!

Silicone "rings" in different shapes for pancakes and eggs.

FINALLY! Stocks of smaller silicone cups! Take out the lid and use the cups for your bento box! 

More silicone and easy Microwave baking tools - make your own waffles, mini cakes churros, etc. 

Cook your pancakes in these cute pans!

Adorable piggy! Imagine cooking your pancake on this,
then having your kids decorate them! Yes, great activity! 

A nice tea strainer is essential for bubble-free and smooth egg sheets.

Are your kids particular about their dessert getting mixed in with their lunch?
Store the dessert in these tiny and cute Hello Kitty zipped bags! 

In Japan, a bento meal isn't complete without a wet washcloth to wipe your hands with after eating.
These original and licensed Hello Kitty ones are small enough for your kids' lunchbags.

Store your wet washcloths in these equally-cute, multi-purpose containers.

Saizen doesn't only carry bento tools of all kinds, they also have food! My friends and I were talking about how, when we enter the supermarket, all we see are bento possibilities. The snacks they sell at Saizen are all bento winners! Check these out!

A full aisle and a half of food, food and more food! This is their snack aisle!

Mixed Dried Fruit! Makes a good yogurt topper.
That way, the yogurt doesn't easily spill out.

Shaped crackers and cookies are always a hit!

Mini Cream-filled Wafer Rolls!

#omnomnom So many bento possibilities!

Star-shaped chocolate cereal puffs!

Pocky, Pretz, Yan Yan and Hello Panda heaven! Mix and Match for only P88!

Look at all these sweet treats! In Japan, they would occasionally pack a preserved plum as dessert. Wouldn't you prefer a candy? LOL!

Caramel Corn! That, folks, is the Japanese popular cartoon, Anpanman!

Don't forget to grab a pack of nori! The Japanese ones work best with onigiri!

Alas, all good shopping days must come to an end. Do I have to tell you we helped Saizen close shop? We were there until closing, imagine that! I must have spent 2 hours browsing and shopping. I really, really enjoy their store!

'Til the next bento shopping day!

~~~

SAIZEN BY DAISO
Your One-Stop Shop for all things Japanese, all for P88!

Find Saizen at the following malls:
Robinsons Galleria * Robinsons Magnolia * Robinsons Metro East * Robinsons Place Manila * Market! Market! BGC * Trinoma * Robinsons Abreeza Mall - Davao * Robinsons Bacolod * Robinsons Cagayan de Oro * Robinsons Calasiao * Robinsons Centrio * Robinsons Meycauayan * Robinsons Place Iloilo * Robinsons Place Palawan * Robinsons Place Tacloban * Ayala District Mall Imus * Pavillion Mall - Sta.Rosa 

| facebook.com/saizenph 
| twitter.com/SaizenByDaiso 
| instagram.com/SAIZENPH